Jack Ross admits he had words for his Hibs team at half-time as victory hailed

Hibs manager Jack Ross admitted that he had some choice words for his team at half-time before they went on to record a 3-0 Premiership win over Motherwell.

Hibs boss Jack Ross congratulates Paul Hanlon at full-time after a 3-0 win over Motherwell.

The Hibees put in an insipid 45 minutes at Fir Park and were several levels below their usual standards, fortunate to go in level after the hosts’ Tony Watt had a goal disallowed.

However, Ross cajoled them during the break and his words were heeded when goals from Martin Boyle, Christian Doidge and Stephen McGinn ensured all three points belonged to the Capital outfit.

The victory moves Hibs above Aberdeen into third place by a point after the Dons – who have a game in hand – drew 1-1 at St Mirren. They are now also eight points clear of the Steelmen, who remain in fifth.

"I'm delighted with the result,” said Ross, who team visit Hamilton Accies next weekend. “When you come away from home and record a victory of that margin, it is very pleasing.

"At half time, I was critical of the players in some aspects of it. We gave ourselves a foundation to try and get something from the game, but we weren't quite at the levels we need to be to win matches. In the second half, we were terrific in all aspects of our play, so I'm really delighted with how the players responded.

"They are such a good group and they are humble, so sometimes they need a reminder that they are a good side and we have good players. They should be confident. But we also needed a greater intensity about our play. We do a lot of work in terms of getting the ball out of tight areas into wider areas and we didn't do it quickly enough in the first half, but in the second half we did right from the off and hence the reason why we create opportunities during the course of the second 45.

"Although I was critical of the first half, the one thing we did was hang in the game and give ourselves a platform to win it.”

ANALYSIS: A couple of 8s, but also some 6s – how the Hibs players rated against Motherwell

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